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Sunday, 4 June 2017

U4 Week 6 STATIONS

Hey Coaches! We are already at week 6 of our season and that means it’s time for stations again! Last time the stations ran well once we got everything up and going. I strongly encourage you to arrive early, especially if you have anything to set-up for your specific station.

According to the weather forecast, it is supposed to be a nice and warm day (finally on a wednesday!). It may be a good idea to email your parents and remind them to make sure their kids have water. Players can carry their water bottles with them from station to station.

The horn will go at 4:00 pm to signal that it is time to start. Your team will do your activity to start as their first station. There is 7 minutes at your first station with your team to allow for player arrival, instruction and to get things sorted. After that, each station is 5 minutes long, and the horn will blow to signal that it is time to move. We will rotate in a clockwise direction. Remember that 5 minutes isn't very long, so get them off and moving quickly at the end of your time, and then get started right away once your next team has arrived. There are no scheduled games today.

Any extra equipment I will have for you. If you drills requires a grid, you will use your own cones for this. Your name is is beside the station you will run. I will have flags out marking each station (1-7).

1. NUTS AND SQUIRRELS (Brier Caden/Jaculan Robinson)

In your grid, use your pop-up nets or cones to make "hoarding areas/trees" in the corners of the grid.

Place all of the soccer balls (nuts) in the middle of the grid.

Divide players up equally to become the "squirrels", and start in the hoarding area.

Taking turns, players are trying to get as many "nuts" as they can from the centre of the grid when you shout "Go!"

When there are no balls left in the middle, coach yells "steal" or (something else appropriate) and then they may try and steal nuts from the other hoarding areas. No defending the nuts!

Start with having the players carry the ball back to their hoarding area. After they understand the game, progress to dribbling the ball back and stopping it in the hoop.

Feel free to also go and take the “nuts” out of the nets and kick them back towards to middle to keep the game going.

2. Musical Soccer Balls (Joel Asher/Isabella McGrath Beruschi)

Use cones to make a circle large enough for your kids to run around. Place the soccer balls in the middle of the circle and make sure you have one less soccer ball than you have players. The players start on the outside of the circle and they are not allowed to go into the circle until the whistle blows. On the whistle, the players can sprint to the soccer balls. Because there is one less soccer ball, one player will be left without a ball. The player without the ball is then removed from the game. Every round you will need to remove one soccer ball.

3. Soccer Bowling (Naomi Ford/Krystal Symons)

Partner players together or have children work with their parent. Set up a ball on top of a disc cone, one for each pair. Players are taking turns back and forth, trying to knock the ball of the cone by shooting their ball at it. Appoint a parent or two to help place the balls back on top of the cone when it is knocked off. The video is slightly different and they have used it as a passing activity, but can also become a shooting activity. Do a quick demo of proper shooting technique, pointing out which part of your foot players should strike the ball with.

Create a mini game field (field size 15x20 yards). Split kids into 2 teams (if possible, you may need to play or have a parent step in and play). Allow them to play without too much coaching, you only have 5 minutes. Encourage them to not bunch up, and to pass the ball

5. Animal Soccer (Harley South, Beth Brodie)

Have your players choose an animal (change animals as you go). Get the kids of come up with them. Try and get them to think of some animals to act as. A Bird is a great example as they don’t have arms. If you are a bird, dribble the ball while flapping your wings (and make bird noises). If you’re a skunk walk on your hands and feet with butt in the air. Go find a cone and “spray” it. Again, be creative.

Some other ideas: Penguin (do the Penguin Waddle), Elephant (use arm as the elephant's trunk and make noises), snake (lay down and slither (or roll) around while pushing the ball), Crocodile (put arms out in front of you and slap your arms together as if your arms are the crocs mouth).

6. OBSTACLE COURSE (Joel Asher / Isabella McGrath-Beruschi)

Create 2 small obstacle courses with cones, rings, ladders and hurdles; start by running it without a ball, carrying the ball, then dribbling; incorporate a pass or a shot on goal if you can....

Extra equipment will be waiting at your spot for you to create a course with when you arrive. I will have some things set up for you before hand.

7. MONSTER INVASION (Sergio Spataro/Alyssa Spataro/ Kamryn Sharpe)

Every player has a ball that is their "pet". (You could have them name if if you want, but that might take too much time?) The game is that a Monster is coming and they must keep it away from the Monster by dribbling it around the field. Remind them that they must stay INSIDE the field too. You get to be the Monster. Some ideas are drag your leg like Frankenstein, make monster noises and faces, etc. Don't actually take their ball away or scare them though!